COLONIE  It’s been said that “art is the window to man’s soul,” so if that’s the case, Charles Gianfagna’s is on display for the Capital District to see with the art exhibit “A Retrospective,” a varied collection of artwork from the past 53 years housed at Siena College until Dec. 20.

“When you die, your life passes before your eyes; this is a slow motion version of that. It’s very emotional because associated with all of the art are my experiences in executing the art,” said Gianfagna, an Albany resident.

Gianfagna has plenty of experience with openings. Until just recently, he was head of St. Peter’s Hospital Master Facilities Plan and unveiled a $259 million renovation and modernization project. Before that, he executed several other large-scale medical projects around the region and New York City.

But on Friday, Nov. 18, he was part of a new kind of reveal with the artist talk and opening reception for “A Retrospective” in Yates Gallery in the Standish Library at Siena.

“I was fascinated by how people from the show gravitated toward certain pieces,” said Gianfagna. “I was provoking the very thing that my art intended to do. I provoked people’s reactions. Everybody found something they liked, which I found was interesting.”

The exhibit is literally a journey through Gianfagna’s evolution as an artist, featuring different mediums like biographs, cut paper, casting shadows, airbrushing, angels, childhood Jesus and cathedrals.

“It’s a wonderful experience for an artist to see all his work in one big showing. … It’s not presented chronologically but you suddenly get all of the common denominators in your art,” said Gianfagna, who noticed his consistent use of primary colors and shapes. “I began to see these common threads and themes. You could see the progression of my work over time from one style of work to another.”